George Yeo is the new Chancellor of Nalanda University

The Ministry of External Affairs announced that, former Foreign Minister of Singapore George Yeo, will be the new chancellor of Nalanda university. Mr Amartya Sen, a Nobel Laureate, who withdrew his candidature for a second term Chancellor of the Nalanda University, Bihar in Feb 2015, would be replaced by George Yeo as the next Chancellor.

• At the previous meeting that took place in January 13- 14  2015, Mr George Yeo chaired the meeting, when it was unanimously decided to have Dr Amartya sen to serve as chancellor for second  term also.
• Mr George Yeo was given Padma Bhushan in 2012 for his contributions in ”public affairs”.
• Yeo being an integral part of the Nalanda Mentor Group, has played important part in the revival of the ancient university .
• In the month of February 2015, Nalanda University became talk of the town when Prof Sen wrote a letter to his colleagues on the board stating that since Modi’s government hadn’t approved on his second term as chancellor, that he would withdraw from seeking a second term .
• Prof Sen said that the delay in the approval to his re-appointment showed clearly that the government  not being keen on his second term as chancellor.

Revival of Nalanda university

• In the year 2005 when APJ Abdul Kalam was the President, the revival of Nalanda university was proposed .
• The university is being built near the ruins of historic academic place by the same name in Bihar and East Asia Summit members are involved.
• To implement the decisions taken at  the Second East Asia Summit held in January 2007,the government had enacted the Nalanda University Act 2010.

Nalanda is largest buddhist monastery in ancient Magadha or Bihar and it was centre of learning from the fifth century CE to 1200 CE. Nalanda flourished under Gupta Empire as well as under rulers like Harsha, Pala etc